Easy Blackberry Pie- Made With Love

Hello, Blog readers! Don’t know about you, but I am sure looking forward to spring! Where I live, all the birds are coming back- to 8 inches of snow on the ground and highs of 20 degrees. Brr… poor things. Sorry birds, come back later when there are berries and bugs for you to eat! And speaking of berries- I know the prime time for berry pies is the summer when they (the berries) are in season, but I love making them in the winter as well because they just warm up your soul and remind you of the warm weather and sunshine to come! I used frozen berries in this recipe, but feel free to use fresh, in-season berries as well. And don’t worry about being a pie-crust genius! I prefer to make my own, but if you’re short on time you can totally use a store bought crust. Alright, let’s make some delicious pie! Note: I had some extra pie crust dough, so I rolled it out flat and cut out some cute little hearts to decorate the pie in addition to the crumble topping. This is completely optional!

Ingredients

• -For The Pie Filling-
• 4 cups fresh blackberries
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour (tapioca flour works too!)
• 1 unbaked 9″ pie shell
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice

• -For The Crumble Topping-
• 2/3 cup flour
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup rolled oats
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp butter, softened

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Combine 3 1/2 cups berries with the sugar and flour. Spoon the mixture into an unbaked pie crust. Spread the remaining 1/2 cup berries on top of the sweetened berries. Sprinkle the lemon juice on top. In a small bowl, combine the crumble topping ingredients and use a pastry blender and your fingers to evenly distribute the butter until it is combined and the texture is fine. Sprinkle this mixture on top of your pie and bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees and bake for 30 to 35 more minutes or until the filling is bubbling and the crust is golden brown. Let cool thoroughly before serving and enjoy! Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

I really hope you enjoyed this recipe and thank you so much for reading my post! Feel free to like, follow and comment! I’d love to know what you think. Have a wonderful day! -Maxine

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Skillet Blondies

Hello, all! I am sorry that I’ve not posted in a looooong while. It’s been a busy past few weeks! I had an ice skating competition, relatives visiting, and a lot of other exciting things happening! Anyhow, I am glad to be posting again today. I had printed out this recipe a few weeks ago, and I have just now been able to make it. It was so delicious, as well as rich and hearty! it’s a delicious blondie that is a lot like a peanut butter cookie crossed with a chocolate chip cookie, crossed with perhaps a pie. Well, anyway the only way to know what it’s like is to make it yourself! This recipe is adapted from Chrissy Teigen’s Cravings: Hungry For More. I found myself nibbling at the blondies until they were all gone! I was definitely hungry for more.

Ingredients

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened plus more for skillet
• 2/3 cup crunchy peanut butter
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2/3 cup peanut butter chips
• 2/3 cup chocolate chips (whatever darkness you like)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Use butter to generously grease the inside of a 10-inch cast iron skillet. Combine the unsalted butter, peanut butter and both sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer or handheld electric mixer; beat on low speed until blended. Increase the speed to medium. Beat for about 2 minutes until creamy, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice as needed. Add the vanilla, then beat in the eggs one at a time, thoroughly incorporating after each addition Stop to scrape down the bowl.

Whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder in a separate bowl. With the motor off, (if it was on you would be covered in white powder within seconds! :D) add the flour mixture to the mixer bowl, then beat on low speed until just incorporated, to form a soft dough. Add the peanut butter chips and chocolate chips. Beat on low speed until evenly distributed.

Spread the dough in the skillet, smoothing the top. Bake for 40-45 minutes, until the crust is a little golden on the edges but the center is still soft. (the cookie might seem underdone when it comes out of the oven, but it will firm up as it cools. Let cool for 15-20 minutes in the skillet, then cut into wedges or any portions you want. Serve warm or at room temperature. Note: this is fantastic served warm with vanilla bean ice cream!

Enjoy!! And thanks for reading this post! Please like this and let me know if you made this recipe and how it turned out! Ciao for now- Maxine.

How To Sew Figure Skate Soakers!

Whether you skate just for fun, or competitively like me, soakers are crucial for the protection of your blades! The terrycloth soaks up the water and snow and keeps your precious blades from rusting. You can save tons of money by making your own soakers! (or if you’re not a skater yourself, whip up a pair for a skater you know!) The plainest commercial soakers cost around $10, and the really fancy ones can be up to $40. When I first started skating I was like, this is ridiculous. There’s got to be another way…

And there is! Through trial and error, and many batches of soakers, I’ve finally created the perfect formula for stylish, functional soakers, that can cost practically nothing to make! (I already had some pretty fabric for the outside, elastic, and I just cut up an old towel for the terrycloth lining, so I didn’t have to buy anything!!!) The supplies needed are very simple, you probably already have them on hand. I believe in you, you can do it! Ok, let’s make some soakers!!

• You Will Need:
• Scissors
• Fabric for the outside of the soakers- this can be pretty much whatever you want! I’m using stretch velvet, which I loooove, but you can also use flannel, cotton, fleece, spandex, or fur and sequin fabrics if you’re confident sewing them!
• Fabric for the inside, something absorbent. I find that terrycloth works the best, and is most durable, (I cut up an old towel) but if you absolutely need to use something else, try fleece or flannel.
• 1/4″ wide elastic.
• Safety pin or bodkin to thread the elastic through the casings.

Cut: 

Before you cut, you will need to take a few measurements to determine the size of the pieces you’re to cut! Measure: The length of the blade (toepick to back) and the depth. (from the bottom of the heel of the boot down to the bottom of the blade) Cut out 2 pieces of outside fabric 2 times the depth measurement + 2″ by 1.5 times the length of your blade. (Example: If my blade is 12″ long by 2″ deep, I will cut a piece that is 18″*6″) Cut your 2 terrycloth pieces out the same way, but cut them 1″ less wide than the outside pieces. Cut a piece of elastic 2 times the length of your blade plus 3″

Sew!

1. Place an outside fabric piece right side down on your workspace. Put an inside piece on top, right side facing out, matching short edges, and line them up so that the outside fabric shows through 1/2″ on each long side

Pin in the center so the fabric pieces won’t slip around.

Fold the 1/2″ edges over the terrycloth, like this. Pin the fold in place, and stitch down the long side, close to the edge (not the fold) of the outside fabric with a narrow zig-zag stitch. Important: this fold is going to become a casing for your elastic. Be sure to leave AT LEAST 1/4 of an inch seam allowance on the folded edge for the elastic to go through later. Repeat the folding and sewing on the other side of the rectangle.

Attach a safety pin to one end of the elastic. Scrunch through the casing. Be sure to keep track of the other end while doing so! When you get to the end of one long side, insert the elastic through the other long side too. Both ends should be sticking out when you are done. At this point, try the soaker on your skate and pull on both ends of the elastic to cinch it to the proper size. When the elastic is not stretched, you want the soaker to fit around your blade semi-snugly. (not too tight, though!) This definitely takes some fiddling with to get exactly right. Once you have this perfect, you can pin the elastic ends near the fabric to keep them in the proper place.

Now, turn the soaker so that it’s folded in half lengthwise, right sides together, and stitch across both short ends, backstitching at each end to secure. Note: I was using a thin, fine needle for this entire project, and my needles kept breaking when I sewed across the 4 layers of fabric and 2 layers of elastic end of this seam. I switched to heavier duty needles, (90/14 Shmetz stretch needles) and I haven’t had a problem since!

Your soaker is finished! Repeat these steps to make another, and then you’ve got a pair of soakers that (guess what!) YOU made yourself, and fit your skates just right!!!

Thanks so much for reading my blog! Let me know if you would like more Skating posts, or if you are a skater, or if you made these! I just wanted to try something different today, and I hope you liked it! Ciao for now- Maxine

Chocolate Peppermint Crème Sandwich Cookies!!

Some think that peppermint and chocolate are sole flavors of Christmas, but I beg to differ. Chocolate and peppermint are perfect for January/February, because it’s the new year, and we are looking for fresh beginnings, new starts. What’s fresher than peppermint? The chocolate is just plain good, and the mint rings with a fresh flavor, universal. anytime goodness. (UAG for short! :D)

These cookies are sooooo good! I repeat, these cookies are soooo good! Chocolate and peppermint is my absolute favorite flavor combination. Mint chocolate chip ice cream- hello! So, having that incredible combo in a cookie is even more amazing, especially when the cookie is so chewy and chocolatey! The mint buttercream really adds a nice touch! I have just discovered this recipe, but I have a feeling that it’s going to be a hit at potlucks, parties, and gatherings. Hmm… I wonder if these cookies would be good with ice cream? While I ponder that life-changing question, here is the recipe!

Ingredients

• For the cookies:
•  1 1/2 C brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp water
• 3/4 C butter
• 2 C semi or bittersweet chocolate chips
• 2 eggs (beaten)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 3 C flour
• For the Peppermint Buttercream Frosting:
  4 C Powdered Sugar
  1/3 C soft butter
  About 1/3 cup warm water
  1/2 tsp peppermint extract (or more!!)
  Green food coloring (just a bit, you don’t want to go too overboard)

Instructions

To make the cookies:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the salt, baking soda, and flour together in a large bowl and set aside.

In a large pan on the stove over medium high heat, melt the brown sugar, water, and butter together and stir. Heat until it boils.

Remove from heat and stir in the chocolate chips. Mix until melted.

Beat your eggs with a fork and then stir them into the chocolate mixture.

Add the dry ingredients and stir them in until completely combined.

Roll into one inch balls and drop onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake for about 7-8 minutes. Cookie should be just starting to have cracks in it.

To make the Frosting:

Mix together all of the ingredients with a rubber spatula until smooth. You might want to taste it to make sure it’s minty enough! I am big on flavors, so sometimes I even use more than 1/2 a tsp! Use a Ziplock bag or pastry bag with a wide tip to squeeze about a Tablespoon onto a cookie. Sandwich with another cookie. Then eat!!

Thanks so much for checking out my blog! Don’t forget to like and follow if you appreciate these posts! Ciao for now! -Maxine

Easy 5-Minute Bookmark! A Great Beginner Sewing Project

Hello again! I’m back today with a great sewing project. If you ask me, winter is a great season for reading. (and sewing!) It’s too cold to do anything outside, so reading is the perfect activity! I always lose paper bookmarks, but this is a cloth variety that stays in your book, pretty much no matter what happens to it! My favorite part about this project is that you can use your favorite cotton fabric scraps and a bit of elastic, and have a functional bookmark in just a few minutes. Well, let’s get sewing!

First, cut out two rectangles of fabric 12″ by 2 1/2″ You’ll also want to cut a piece of elastic (you can use pretty much any width! Mine is 1/2″ wide) about 7.5″ long. You can adjust the elastic length so the bookmark fits bigger or smaller books, but I would start with 7.5″ for your first bookmark.

Line up the rectangles on top of each other, right sides together and sew down the long sides with a 1/4″ seam allowance. (edge of the presser foot on the edge of the fabric)

Turn your fabric tube right side out, like this.

Press the tube flat.

Fold the ends in about 1/4″, and press flat.

Now, stick the elastic about 1/4″ into your folded end. Stitch across like this. Repeat with the other end.

TAA Daaaaahhh! There you have it! A fabulous fabric bookmark, that only takes a few minutes to make! I love how cute this is, I’m going to make many, many more and maybe give some as gifts!

Thanks so much for reading this post! I hope you enjoyed it. Also, let me know if you made it and/or have any tips or ideas for me in the future! Ciao for now!

Recipe: Chia Raisin Granola Bars!

Hello! I’m excited to be making my second post on this blog. I am a figure skater, and I’m always really hungry after practice! I love making these yummy, filling, and good for you granola bars, that I can quickly grab and put in my bag! They are soooo good! Sometimes, I add dried cranberries and chocolate chips to the recipe for a unique variation. Well, I’m sure you’re eager to make these, so I will get on with the recipe!

Chia Raisin Granola Bars

Yield: about 10

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
• 1/2 cup whole almonds, roughly chopped
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds
• 1/4 tsp salt
• heaping 1/4 cup of golden raisins

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9 inch square pan with parchment paper. Lightly spray the paper with cooking spray.
2. Combine the oats and almond on a cookie sheet and bake for 7-10 minutes until lightly toasted. (you can sometimes tell by the smell!)Transfer to a large bowl.
3. While the oats toast, combine the honey, butter, brown sugar, vanilla, chia, and salt in a small saucepan on medium heat. Cook until the butter melts and the sugar completely dissolves, stirring occasionally. Pour this mixture over the oats and almonds and add the raisins. Stir to combine
4. Transfer the oat mixture to the prepared pan. Using a rubber spatula firmly press the mixture into the pan until it is in a uniform layer. Chill the pan in the refrigerator for 2 hours
5. After the granola ha cooled completely, gently lift it out of the pan using the parchment paper as handles. Cut into squares or bars. Store in sandwich size ziplock bags and take on adventures!

Thanks so much for reading my blog! I hope you enjoyed this post. Let me know if you made these with a comment!

Hot Chocolate Recipes for a More Joyful January

Hello! I’m so excited to make a first post on this blog! I have many fond memories of coming in from the cold after playing in the snow with my brother, and making some toasty homemade hot chocolate. (with marshmallows of course!) Sometimes I think that hot cocoa warms your soul as well as your body. It’s truly a comfort food!

(pretend this is a recipe for now, I will post it later)

Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Journey Begins

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton